American Revolution
The American Revolution was a time of colonial insurrection in British America that lasted from 1765 to 1783. This era is defined by American ideas and attempts to end the rule of the British Parliament who were accused of asserting nonessential control over colonial affairs after having adhered to a policy of salutary neglect. This led to disunity between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain that eventually escalated into a all-out War of Independence against the British Military by 1775, without hesitation. Afterward, the hostilities expanded into an international war as the great powers of Europe: France, Spain, and the Netherlands; joined forces and sailed to the Thirteen Colonies’ aid. Due to the conflict becoming too expensive and too burdensome for the Parliament, Great Britain chose to finally acknowledge the independence of the colonies. At that point, the former British Colonies that consisted of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, became the United States of America. Details For a long time, Europe has been exploring the new world for centuries. King George III took the crown in 1760 and brought Tories into his government after three decades of Whig rule. They represented an authoritarian vision of empire in which colonies would be subordinate. In conclusion to the French and Indian War, Great Britain stood victorious over France, establishing the empire as the most powerful country in the world. In the aftermath, Spain gave up Florida and France lost Canada, the land east of the Mississippi, some Caribbean islands and India to Britain. Additionally, France also gave New Orleans and the land west of the Mississippi to Spain, to compensate it for ceding Florida to the British. Unfortunately for the British, the fruits of victory brought seeds of trouble with Great Britain’s American colonies. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was Britain’s first major postwar imperial action targeting North America. The king forbade settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains in an attempt to limit costly wars with Native Americans. American Colonists, however, protested and demanded access to the territory for which they had fought alongside the British. Also Great Britain was heavily burdened with a 60 million pound debt, leading British Prime Minister George Grenville to devise the Sugar Act that would reduce duties in half on sugar and molasses to raise revenue but also to enforce the law more strictly against widespread smuggling of molasses in New England: smugglers would be tried by vice-admiralty courts and not juries The Sugar Act was successfully passed by Parliament on April 5, 1764 as an indirect tax to merchants, nonetheless, the colonies were aware of the new law. The colonial governments of New York and Massachusetts sent formal letters of protest to Parliament. Two prime movers behind the protests against the Sugar Act were Samuel Adams and James Otis, both of Massachusetts. Parliament also passed the Currency Act, which restricted colonies from producing paper money. Hard money, such as gold and silver coins, was scarce in the colonies. The lack of currency impeded the colonies’ increasingly sophisticated transatlantic economies. Both of these acts came to the colonies when in the midst of a postwar colonial recession, making it almost impossible for the colonies to pay debts or taxes. It even created a colonial fear of a pattern of increased taxation and restricted liberties. In March 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a new direct tax. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. Not only do the colonies resent paying the tax, but also having it imposed by a far away parliament where no one represents them. Even though Great Britain appoints governors and high officials, each colony is long accustomed to ruling itself and imposing its own taxes. The colonists began to make more broader resistance against the empire. Timeline 1763 * October 7 '''- The '''Royal Proclamation of 1763 got signed by King George III of England, which prohibits any English settlement west of the Appalachian mountains and requires those already settled in those regions to return east in an attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans. 1764 * April 5 ''' - Britain introduced the '''Sugar Act which forced the British Colonies to import sugar and molasses, exclusively from the British offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly acquired territories. * July - "The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved," is published by James Otis * September 1 '''- Parliament passed the '''Currency Act, effectively assuming control of the colonial currency system. The act prohibited the issue of any new bills and the reissue of existing currency. 1765 * March 22 - The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. * May 3 '''- The British Parliament met and finally passed a '''Quartering Act for the Americans. The act stated that troops could only be quartered in barracks and if there wasn't enough space in barracks then they were to be quartered in public houses and inns. * May 30 '''- '''Patrick Henry presents seven Virginia Resolves to the House of Burgesses claiming that only the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents, saying, "If this be treason, make the most of it." * August '''- The '''Sons of Liberty were formed and they used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable. 1766 * March 18 '''- Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and passed the '''Declaratory Act. It stated that the British Parliament’s taxing authority was the same in America as in Great Britain. 1767 * 1767-1768 - The Parliament passed the Townshend Acts which placed duties on a number of essential goods, including paper, glass, and tea, and established a Board of Customs in Boston to more rigorously execute trade regulations. The new taxes were enacted on the belief that Americans only objected to internal taxes and not to external taxes such as custom duties. The Americans, however, argued against the constitutionality of the act because its purpose was to raise revenue and not regulate trade 1768 * February '''- The he Assembly of Massachusetts Bay issued the '''Massachusetts Circular Letter to the other colonies urging them to coordinate resistance. The governor dissolved the assembly when it refused to rescind the letter. * March 5 '''- A large crowd gathered around a group of British soldiers. The crowd grew threatening, throwing snowballs, rocks, and debris at them. One soldier was clubbed and fell.There was no order to fire, but the soldiers fired into the crowd anyway. They hit 11 people; three civilians died at the scene of the shooting, and two died after the incident. This became known as the '''Boston Massacre 1772 * June 9 - American patriots, including John Brown, burned a British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations in what became known as the Gaspee'' Affair'. The affair was investigated for possible treason, but no action was taken. '''1773 * June '''- The '''Hutchinson Letters Affair '''were published in which Massachusetts Governor '''Thomas Hutchinson claimed that the colonists could not enjoy all English liberties, and Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver called for the direct payment of colonial officials. * May 10 '''- The '''Tea Act is passed. The principal objective was to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help the financially struggling company survive. A related objective was to undercut the price of illegal tea, smuggled into Britain's North American colonies. * December 16 '''- A group of men, led by '''Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke the appearance of American Indians, boarded the ships of the British East India Company and dumped £10,000 worth of tea from their holds (approximately £636,000 in 2008) into Boston Harbor. This was kmown as the Boston Tea Party 1774 * The British Parliament pass a punitive set of laws called the Intolerable Acts. The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British to the detriment of colonial goods. In Great Britain, these laws were referred to as the Coercive Acts. * During the same year, Quebec Act '''was passed by the British Parliament to institute a permanent administration in Canada replacing the temporary government created at the time of the Proclamation of 1763. It gave the French Canadians complete religious freedom and restored the French form of civil law. ''1775'' * '''April 19 - Massachusetts was declared in a state of rebellion in February 1775 and the British garrison received orders to disarm the rebels and arrest their leaders, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. * June 17- The Battle of Bunker Hill starts. It was a British victory but at a great cost: about 1,000 British casualties from a garrison of about 6,000, as compared to 500 American casualties from a much larger force. * In the winter, the Americans invaded Canada under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery. The attack was a complete failure; many Americans who weren't killed were either captured or died of smallpox. 1776 * January 5 '- New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution. * '''March 17 '- The Continental Army forced the British to '''evacuate Boston, with George Washington as the commander of the new army. The revolutionaries were now in full control of all 13 colonies and were ready to declare independence. There still were many Loyalists, but they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials had fled. * April '''- The North Carolina Provincial Congress issued the '''Halifax Resolves explicitly authorizing its delegates to vote for independence. * May - Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. * June 7 '''- '''Richard Henry Lee was instructed by the Virginia legislature to propose independence, and he did so. It was called the Lee Resolution, which declared the establishment of a new country of United Colonies as independent from the British Empire, creating what became the United States of America. * June 11- A committee was created to draft a document explaining the justifications for separation from Britain. * July 2 '- After securing enough votes for passage, independence was voted for. * '''July 4 '- The '''Declaration of Independence was drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the committee; it was unanimously adopted by the entire Congress. * July '- Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey created their constitutions; Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown. * '''August 27 '- The British return to New York, defeating Washington's Continental Army in the '''Battle of Long Island. * September 11 '''- A delegation including '''John Adams and Benjamin Franklin met with Richard Howe on Staten Island in New York Harbor in what became known as the Staten Island Peace Conference. Howe demanded a retraction of the Declaration of Independence, which was refused, and negotiations ended. * September 15 '''- The British then quickly seized New York City and nearly captured Washington's army. They made New York their main political and military base of operations in North America, holding it until November 1783. This became known as '''Landing at Kip's Bay. The city became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network. * December 25 '''- Washington '''crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey in a surprise attack and defeated Hessian and British armies at Trenton and Princeton, thereby regaining control of most of New Jersey. 1777 * September 19 '''- '''John Burgoyne moved some of his troops in an attempt to flank the entrenched American position on Bemis Heights. Benedict Arnold anticipated the maneuver and placed significant forces in his way. Burgoyne did gain control of Freeman's Farm, but it came at the cost of significant casualties. This was part of the Battles of Saratoga. * October 7 '''- The British army in New York City went to Philadelphia in a major case of mis-coordination, capturing it from Washington. The invasion army under Burgoyne was much too slow and became trapped in northern New York state. * '''October 17 - Burgoyne surrenders. * November 15 '- The Second Continental Congress approved the "'Articles of Confederation" for ratification by the states. The Congress immediately began operating under the Articles' terms, providing a structure of shared sovereignty during prosecution of the war and facilitating international relations and alliances with France and Spain. 1778 * February 6 '''- A '''Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance were signed between the United States and France. * June 28 '''- British commander '''Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and returned to New York City, but was intercepted by George Washington in the Battle of Monmouth Court House, ending in a stalemate with the British retreating from New York City. 1780 * March 29 to May 12 '''- The British launched the '''Siege of Charleston and successfully took Charleston, resulting in one of the worst American defeats in the war. * August 16 '''- In the aftermath of the '''Battle of Camden, Georgia and South Carolina fell to the hands of the royal forces. 1781 * March 1 '''- The articles were ratified and at that point, the Continental Congress was dissolved and a new government of the United States in Congress Assembled took its place on the following day, with '''Samuel Huntington as presiding officer. * October 19 '''- British General Charles Cornwallis had dug his men in at Yorktown awaiting supplies and reinforcements from New York. However, the Continental and French armies arrived first, quickly followed by a French navy contingent, encircling Cornwallis’s forces and, after laying siege to the city, forcing his surrender. This is known as the '''Siege of Yorktown. 1783 * September 3 '''- The capture of another army left the British without a new strategy and without public support to continue the war. Peace negotiations, namely the '''Treaty of Peace, took place in France, and the war came to an official end. Players of the American Revolution * Abigail Adams - Wife of the future second president, John Adams. During the American Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband urging her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create. * Alexander Hamilton - An adviser to George Washington both during and after the Revolutionary War; before the end of the American Revolution he was also an officer and fought in the Battle of Trenton. * Baron von Steuben - Experienced military officer from Prussia who trained the American troops and developed camp sanitation to reduce disease in the camps * Benedict Arnold - Successful American general during the Revolution who turned traitor in 1780 and joined the British cause. * Benjamin Banneker - An African American inventor that corresponded with Thomas Jefferson about the issue of slavery * Benjamin Franklin '''- American inventor and statesman who served as a delegate to both Continental Congresses, worked on the Declaration of Independence, convinced the French to become their ally and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris 1783, which ended the American Revolutionary War. * '''Bernardo de Galvez - Governor of Spanish Louisiana. Because of his alliance with Spain, he favored the Patriots, he secretly helped the Americans through the Revolutionary War by buying Spanish weapons, gunpowder, clothing, and other necessary supplies that the colonial army needed. * Betsy Ross - Sewed the 1st American Flag. * Charles Cornwallis '''- He was the commander of British Redcoat soldiers in the southern theater. He was selected to replace Howe and was eventually forced to surrender at Yorktown. * '''Crispus Attucks - The African-Native American man who was the first man to die in the Boston Massacre, also considered the very first death in the American Revolution. * Deborah Sampson - Disguised herself as a man and fought for 2 years in the Continental Army before being discovered. * Ethan Allen - Leader of the colonial militia, The Green Mountain Boys and successfully captured Ft. Ticonderoga during the American Revolution * George Mason - Delegate to the Constitutional Convention and his Declaration of Rights for Virginia was the model for a portion the Declaration of Independence; he also drafted the Virginia Bill of Rights * George Washington '''- Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the American War of Independence and later became the first president of the United States from 1789 - 1783. * '''Haym Salomon - American financier and Revolutionary patriot who helped fund the army during the American Revolution * James Armistead - African American who served as a spy for the Patriots during the American Revolution by acting like a runaway slave. He was able to collect valuable information from the British that would help the Americans win the war. * James Madison - A Colonel in the Revolutionary War, and became an important leader in the colonies; also known as the Father of the Constitution. * James Otis - American political activist and lawyer in colonial Massachusetts during the period leading up to the American Revolution. Said, "Taxation without representation is tyranny. * John Adams - Lawyer who defended British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trial even though he supported colonial independence. Was a delegate to both Continental Congresses and was on the committee to write the Declaration of Independence. * John Hancock - Patriot leader and president of the Second Continental Congress; first person to sign the Declaration of Independence; wrote his name in large print so that King George III could read it from Philly. * John Paul Jones - Nicknamed "Father of US Navy" because he defeated the British warship Serapis. Famously said, "I have not yet begun to fight!" * Marquis de Lafayette - A wealthy, young Frenchman who volunteered in the Continental Army and brought a group of well-trained soldiers, and became a trusted adviser of George Washington * Mercy Otis Warren - A poet and writer who was an activist for women's rights and who corresponded with Abigail Adams. * Molly Pitcher - Woman who fought in the American Revolution and brought soldiers water during battles in the war * Nathan Hale - A spy for the Continental Army, who was sentenced to death and said, "I only regret that I have but one life to give to my country" * King George III '''- Monarch of Great Britain and monarch of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death in 1820. * '''Patrick Henry - Representative at the First Continental Congress and delivered the a speech encouraging separation from Great Britain. He said "I know not what course others will take; but for me, give me liberty or give me death" * Paul Revere - Responsible for creating an elaborate carving titled "The Bloody Massacre" which was used as propaganda against the British, and was known for riding to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming during the Battles of Lexington and Concord * Phyllis Wheatley - A slave who learned to read and write. She wrote poetry that inspired many Patriots with its themes of freedom. * Samuel Adams - Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence * Thomas Jefferson - A Representative from Virginia to the Continental Congress. He was also the main author of the Declaration of Independence. * Thomas Paine - Revolutionary leader who wrote the pamphlet Common Sense which helped convince the colonies to become independent from Britain. He later wrote The Crisis to encourage the Continental soldiers to keep fighting. * Wentworth Cheswell - Soldier in the American Revolution who became the first African American elected to office. Work Cited American Yawp Britannica History Place ushistory.org Wikipedia